More midafternoon deep thoughts
What is the point of computer viruses? (viri? See my second deep thought for more on that) I can kinda see why someone might invent one. Say a computer geek's friend had an embarrassing photo of him on his computer, so he gives him a virus that wipes out his harddrive and destroys the photo. Ok, that was kind of a lame example. But the minute you put your email address on the internet somewhere, your inbox is bombarded with penis enlargement ads and viruses. Why? What good is it to mess up a total stranger's computer? Who actually sends the mass viruses, or sets up the program that sends them out?
My next topic is grammar. Why is proper grammar so important? I'm not talking your and you're or it's and its, I'm talking the things your average Joe doesn't know or recognize. For example, our copy editor always changes "due to" to "owing to." But who says "owing to"? And then there's the whole lay, lie thing, which I still can't get right. And then there's "between you and I" which people think they get right, but don't. Add to that Latin words. We say cacti, but do we say viri? Stati? Why do we only bring out the Latin when the word is nominative plural? And why with only a few words? I'm talking about things that are correct, but sound wrong because nobody uses correct grammar. Going out of your way to use correct grammar is kinda like using big words. Is it really that great to have a large vocabulary if the person you're speaking to has to ask you what the word means?
I'm torn on this topic. I used to love grammar and was obsessed about getting everything right. I said "to whom", even though it sounded funny. But why? Just because I wanted to be right? When it comes to interacting with the general public, which is better: being right or sounding right?
My next topic is grammar. Why is proper grammar so important? I'm not talking your and you're or it's and its, I'm talking the things your average Joe doesn't know or recognize. For example, our copy editor always changes "due to" to "owing to." But who says "owing to"? And then there's the whole lay, lie thing, which I still can't get right. And then there's "between you and I" which people think they get right, but don't. Add to that Latin words. We say cacti, but do we say viri? Stati? Why do we only bring out the Latin when the word is nominative plural? And why with only a few words? I'm talking about things that are correct, but sound wrong because nobody uses correct grammar. Going out of your way to use correct grammar is kinda like using big words. Is it really that great to have a large vocabulary if the person you're speaking to has to ask you what the word means?
I'm torn on this topic. I used to love grammar and was obsessed about getting everything right. I said "to whom", even though it sounded funny. But why? Just because I wanted to be right? When it comes to interacting with the general public, which is better: being right or sounding right?